Online gaming on PC has been around forever, but it took quite a while for it to be the norm on consoles. Older generations tried it ala Sega Channel and other outlets, but it really wasn't until the Network Adapter for Playstation 2 arrived in 2002 which is when it started to hit its stride and lay the groundwork for Xbox Live and PSN moving forward. If you're newer to gaming or younger than myself, you simply might take online gaming for granted. Hell, you might even take being online for granted also.